Ballista Launches New “Regional × AI × M&A” Business to Succeed and Regrow Authentic Local Japanese Companies

Ballista Inc. (Head office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Takato Nakagawa) announced the launch of a new “Regional × AI × M&A” business targeting companies rooted in local communities that possess “authentic business value,” such as brands, craftsmanship, and rare assets. As AI spreads rapidly, every business model is being forced to undergo fundamental restructuring. At the same time, many high-quality companies across Japan possess authentic strengths that cannot be replaced by AI, yet face the risk of closure due to the absence of successors and delays in digital adoption. Ballista, positioning itself as a rare business entity capable of handling business vision, AI implementation, and post-M&A management in an integrated manner, will succeed and permanently hold such local companies through M&A. It will rebuild corporate value by using AI-driven, top-line growth-oriented value creation. The company aims to complete its first transaction by the end of 2026 through two sourcing channels: partnerships with regional banks and credit unions, and M&A platforms. Ballista believes that in the AI era, the value of companies rooted in local communities will not decline, but rather rise in relative importance. This includes brands cultivated over long histories, craftsmanship that cannot be imitated overnight, and rare assets available only in specific regions. According to estimates by Japan’s Small and Medium Enterprise Agency, around 1.27 million small and medium-sized enterprises face the risk of closure due to the lack of successors. If no action is taken, approximately 6.5 million jobs and GDP worth around 22 trillion yen could be lost. Ballista describes many of these companies as “Japan’s treasures,” serving as the core of regional economies with unique technologies, customer bases, brands, and talent. The company also points out that although Japan’s SME M&A market has grown active in recent years, fund-style private equity models generally assume an exit through resale or listing within several years. As a result, they structurally tend to prioritize short-term profit maximization and efficiency measures, and do not necessarily improve the long-term wellbeing of employees, communities, and business partners, nor the essential value of the business itself. This new business will integrate three capabilities Ballista has built as an operator: upstream strategic vision, AI implementation, and hands-on post-M&A management. Existing assets such as “Yoake,” a guild of freelance and side-business professionals, and “Co Step,” a platform for developing consultants and transformation talent, will support talent supply, management assistance, and deal creation. Ballista emphasizes that it is itself a group of operators that increased revenue elevenfold in three years without external capital. The company intends to apply the growth methods it has learned through its own experience to the companies it succeeds. Looking ahead, Ballista will build a deal-sourcing structure based on partnerships with regional banks and credit unions, as well as M&A platforms, with the goal of completing its first transaction in 2026. Its main targets include high-quality SMEs across Japan with authentic strengths such as brands, craftsmanship, and rare assets that cannot be replaced by AI; companies whose founders or owners seek a successor that does not aim for a short-term exit; companies with top-line growth potential through AI and digital adoption but lacking implementation capability; and core regional companies that value the continuity of employment, business partners, and brands. Ballista positions this business as a key pillar of its medium- to long-term growth strategy, alongside synergies with its existing consulting business, Yoake professional guild, Co Step talent development platform, due diligence services, and partnerships in community development. In parallel with its growth plan to reach 2.5 billion yen in revenue in its fifth fiscal year and 5 billion yen in its sixth, Ballista aims to co-create the next generation of Japan’s industrial foundation together with the companies it succeeds. President and CEO Takato Nakagawa stated that Ballista does not acquire companies to sell them off, but to inherit and grow them together. Exit is not the goal; the goal is for these companies to continue shining over the long term. In the AI era, Ballista aims to shine a light on authentic value and pass Japan’s treasures on to the next generation.